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Caprese Skewers

Tomato, mozzarella, basil and a balsamic glaze on a stick. Fifteen minutes and nothing to cook.

Prep
15 min
Cook
10 min
Makes
Makes 24 skewers
Jump to the recipe
Cherry tomato, mozzarella and basil skewers drizzled with balsamic
Photo: Tahir Xəlfəquliyev / Pexels

Three ingredients and a glaze, which means each one is exposed. There is nowhere for a mealy winter tomato to hide.

Buy the tomatoes at room temperature and keep them there. Refrigeration below about 12°C permanently destroys the enzymes that produce tomato aroma — this is measurable, not folklore, and the damage does not reverse when they warm up again. A cold tomato tastes of water and acid because that is all it has left.

Make the glaze rather than buying it. Balsamic vinegar reduced by two-thirds takes eight minutes and costs a fraction of the bottled version, which is mostly caramel color and thickener. It should coat a spoon and fall in a slow ribbon; it thickens further as it cools, so stop earlier than feels right.

The balsamic reduction here is the same one used on beet and goat cheese salad, so it is worth making a full jar.

Assemble within an hour of serving. Mozzarella weeps salt water and the basil blackens where it touches the balsamic.

Tomatoes, mozzarella and basil on a plate
Photo: congerdesign / Pixabay

Caprese salad skewers, printed

Tomato, mozzarella, basil and a balsamic glaze on a stick. Fifteen minutes and nothing to cook.

Three ingredients and a glaze

Ingredients

  • 14 oz (400 g) cherry tomatoes, room temperature
  • 14 oz (400 g) mozzarella pearls, drained
  • Large bunch of basil, about 48 leaves
  • 2 tbsp good olive oil
  • Flaky salt and black pepper
  • 24 short skewers or cocktail sticks

For the glaze

  • 1 cup (240 ml) balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tbsp honey

Threading and glazing

  1. 1 Simmer the balsamic and honey in a small pan over medium-low heat for 8–10 minutes, until reduced by about two-thirds. Stop while it still runs off a spoon — it sets as it cools. Cool completely.
  2. 2 Drain the mozzarella well and pat it dry. Wet cheese slides off a skewer and dilutes the glaze.
  3. 3 Thread each skewer: tomato, folded basil leaf, mozzarella, second basil leaf, tomato.
  4. 4 Arrange on a platter, drizzle with olive oil, and season with flaky salt and pepper.
  5. 5 Drizzle the cooled glaze over just before serving.

On mozzarella and tomatoes

  • The glaze keeps a month in a jar at room temperature and is worth making double.
  • Bocconcini, halved, work if you cannot find pearls. Do not use a block — it is drier and squeaks.

Making this italian appetizer ahead

Assemble up to an hour ahead and keep them covered at room temperature. Glaze at the last minute; earlier and the basil goes black where it touches.